The present invention relates generally to a jukebox system, and more particularly to such a system including one or more computer jukeboxes that can be managed from a remote location.
Heretofore, an assortment of musical recordings found in a jukebox consists of a plurality of records, each record containing a specific recording. Traditionally, these records are grooved phonograph records. After a patron makes a selection, the selected phonograph record is mechanically removed from a storage rack within the jukebox, and the phonograph record is placed upon rotating platform. A stylus which is connected to a speaker system is then placed upon the rotating phonograph record, resulting in the phonograph record being played by the jukebox. For each selection, a separate phonograph record must be removed from the storage rack in order to be played by the jukebox.
Conventional jukeboxes have also implemented compact disks as means for creating an assortment of musical songs. Compact disks provide the improved sound quality made possible by digital recordings. The same technique, however, is used to play compact disks. A separate compact disk corresponding to each selection must be removed from a storage rack in order for the jukebox to play the selection. Updating conventional jukeboxes is a costly and time consuming task. Routemen must periodically travel to each jukebox location and replace the existing recordings of each jukebox with up-to-date records. The existing recordings are no longer used by the jukebox once removed, thus making the conventional method wasteful.
Routemen must also travel to each jukebox location to keep a tally of the number of times each musical recording is selected in order to determine royalty fees. It is known to provide a jukebox with a counter that keeps track of the number of times each musical recording is selected, but routemen must still travel to each jukebox location to obtain this information. Such a process requires an excessive number of people to visit each jukebox location periodically and visually read the information off the counter within each jukebox. Since the number of jukeboxes in operation is quite large, the employment of routemen to obtain such data involves a considerable expense. Furthermore, the ever changing nature of the recording industry requires that such data be gathered frequently in order to keep abreast of a continually changing market.
Conventional jukeboxes display a selection menu allowing a patron to select a particular recording that he or she may want to hear. When that song is being played, a video accompanying the song is typically displayed on the screen. However, when the jukebox is not being used either the selection menu is still continually displayed or the screen is blank.